Lifestyle luxury goods finished with Spies Hecker products.

When Carrafont, a French luxury goods design company, discovered that Spies Hecker refinish products provided the best finish for its prototypes and scale-models 22 years ago, it was the beginning of a long and successful collaboration between two very diverse industries.

Carrafont, based in Montreuil, near Paris, France, has been creating scale models for the biggest names in cosmetics and luxury goods industries as well as to perfumiers, jewellers, architects and designers for 30 years. The company gives shape to perfume bottles, make-up palettes and other luxury items for prestigious clients such as Armani, Dior, Guerlain, Hermès, Lancôme, Louis Vuitton, to name a few.

Denis Carré, Manager of Carrafont, says, “our company has extremely high standards and the reason we have been loyal to Spies Hecker for over 20 years is because its products are not only of high quality and meet our needs perfectly, but also they are constantly evolving and getting more efficient and environmentally-responsible. What’s interesting is that because they are formulated for the automotive industry, the coatings are extremely durable. Initially, all we needed was to paint the scale-models made in our workshops. But today, our demands extend to the research and development of new colours, the creation of colour samples, applications on works of art and unique pieces of furniture, blind tests and more. Spies Hecker can deliver that all for us.”

Carrafont‘s reputation is built on professionalism, innovation, expertise and cutting-edge technology and it works predominantly with Plexiglas, brass, aluminium, glass, wood, as well as low- and high-density polyurethane foams. It has been using an array of Spies Hecker products for 22 years via the paint brand’s distributor SPORV, based in Livry Gargan, outside Paris. Carrafont uses a variety of Spies Hecker products. Raderal Spray Polyester 3508 and Permasolid HS Premium Surfacer 5310 and Permasolid HS Performance Surfacer 5320, in grey and white, are chosen for their good coverage, fast curing and good sanding properties. Permahyd Waterborne Base Coat 280/285 is the choice for the quality of its colours and its good vertical stability, and Permafleet HS Topcoat 670/675, the commercial vehicle range known for its flexibility and robustness. Pieces are finished with Permasolid HS Optimum Plus Clear Coat 8650 high gloss and Permacron Matt Clear Coat 8085.

The possibilities are endless

Arnaud Antremont, Head of Paint at Carrafont, says, “to make the most of these products and achieve the best results in our workshops, our painters have attended several advanced training courses with Spies Hecker. We use Spies Hecker products daily and create effects such as carbon, marble, stone, etc. Our big challenge is to create high-quality artistic effects and the possibilities the Spies Hecker products offer are endless. They give us stability in our work processes and speed of execution, but above all, they provide an outstanding and long-lasting finish. Surprisingly, it is a high-quality automotive paint brand that’s perfectly suited to the luxury segment."

Antremont and Carré attach great importance to training. And Carré prides himself on the close and caring atmosphere of his company, on team work, and on happy and loyal employees and clients.

Award-winning skills; looking to the future

In 2014, Carrafont received the EPV label (Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant), which honours French companies with exceptional craft or industrial skills. Carré says, “Our paint division played a key role in securing this seal of excellence thanks to the originality of our creations. We have significant digital milling machinery for creating 3D files, but we have retained skilled manual craftsmanship to sculpt the elaborate shapes directly from artists’ sketches.”

Carrafont’s outlook for 2017 is to develop new colours and applications thanks to its newly installed paint lab and paint booth that have been up and running since October 2016. With these new facilities, Carrafont now boasts two paint booths and two paint labs. With its expanded workshops, the company will be able to handle a higher volume of orders and to paint larger format pieces. It is also planning investments to enhance its production of 3D models.

Spies Hecker, one of the global refinish coating brands from Axalta Coating Systems, develops optimum and practical paint system solutions that can make bodyshop work easier and more efficient. With 135 years of success behind it, Spies Hecker’s high-quality product systems, customised service and targeted training demonstrate its partnership with the refinish industry. Based in Cologne, Germany, it is one of the world’s leading vehicle refinish brands, and is available in over 76 countries worldwide.